Minety retained their 4th place in the Dorset and Wilts Division 1 North match in a bruising bonus point winning 26 – 0 victory at bottom club Colerne on Saturday, a game brought to an end on 65 minutes with a Colerne player stretched out on the pitch with what looked like a serious shoulder injury.
Minety opened the scoring in the 9th minute. After pressure down the right flank, Josh Bull caught the ensuing lineout and a 10 man drive saw scrum half Garin Garland race through to score under the posts.
With the match littered with handling errors and a lack of fluidity, it was a try saving tackle from centre Matt Roberts which preserved Minety’s lead as Colerne pressed forward.
Minety extended their lead in the 31st minute. Garland spread play out to fly half Jack Ward, whose perfectly timed pass set Roberts away. A pass to full back Duncan Simpson and another to the impressive Bull saw the latter score under the posts. Garland converted and MInety were 12 points up.
Tempers flared in the 31st minute and both teams were reduced to 14 after a brawl involving a number of players from both sides.
The home side started the second half strongly and pinned Minety back in their own half but the villagers’ defensive line remained resolute and their dominance at lineout relieved the pressure.
Captain Andrew Hibberd scored MInety’s 3rd try in the 54th minute, collecting from the lineout and driving through the defence in the corner. Garland’s excellent conversion from distance took the visitors to a comfortable 19 – 0 lead.
The 4th, and bonus point winning try, came in the 59th minute when Roberts outpaced the defence to end a fine back line move. Garland’s conversion stretched the lead to 26 – 0.
The match ended shortly after as medical staff waited for an ambulance to attend to the stricken Colerne player.
After the match, coach Andy Ward said, “It was sad that the match had to end 15 minutes early. Obviously our thoughts are with the injured player. We lost our shape as the game progressed, and that is something we’ll have to address on the training pitch before we take on Combe Down, the league champions, in our final game of the season at Minety next week. Our set pieces were good but we should have used our width across the line more effectively.”
Captain Andrew Hibberd commented, “We played well in patches but overall I felt we were too rushed. We should have taken more time to assess where the mismatches were in their defence and exploited them.”
Date: Saturday 16th April 2016. Kick off 3pm
Venue: Colerne
Weather conditions: Light cloud, bitter wind
Competition: Dorset and Wilts Division 1 North
Garin collects the ball to opening the scoring
Josh Bull ends a brilliant pitch length move
Matt Roberts outpaces the defence for the 4th try
Jack, Wallace, Matt and Garin
Click on any picture for an enlargement.
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